Tapered tank construction



Nov. 14, 1944.

A. F. MEYER 'I'APERED TANK CONSTRUCTION Original Filed June 26, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

m (Zr need TRY m Nov. 14, 1944.

A. F. MEYER TAPERED TANK CONSTRUCTION Original Filed June 26, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

777M442 v 772M Nov. 14, 1944;

TAPERED TANK CONSTRUCTION Original Filed June 26, 1942 3 Sheets- Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

HZV'OIQ/VZ'V/S.

A. F. MEYER 2,362,658

Patented Nov. 14, 1944 aasacsc I 1 Tel mann-TANK CONSTRUGTION' BrhoITF-fMeyerylewaukea w'isia assi gfio'r to Tfie Coi Milwa Wisconsim April i 2 Glaimse wilzzo- -si a T fiisinventiorrrelates"to improvements ifi tapered tank constructiorr, and is" a division of application Serial No. 4 48,6'57, fild June 26; 19.42;. and-a continuation in part of'applicatiori' Serial Nb: 4428;656; fiied June' 26, 1'942";

Iiimy application; Serfal N01 448,656, I have described" a tapered transportable" tank for ineorpora-ii'on in a; wheelewvehicle, such as a. semiiiiailers Tiietank; disciosecr'in said co p'ending application;and"also forming the subject of this ap iicatiom, hasdecidedadvantag'es"overthe conventicnai trailer tank" of-uniformcrosasectionai. areai or a trailerwank of the" so-c'alled." dropframe t'ypez- It isciiaracterize'd'by a"tapere'di fbrmatioir, increasing in cross-sectional area? from one 611d to the other; with'the'taiik' being oflsubstantially ovate form in"cross=secticn; and fabricated f1om"a* pair of complementary l'ongia tiidiialiy extendingiplates; e'ach'of substantially semi-oval form with adjacent" overlapping edges (tith -complementary plates being secured togetheralong longitu'dithal lines on" opposite sides o'fit'h'e tank; There are; however, certain timblms irivoi'vedin the economical"andlexpeditiofis' fabrication of a tank of thec lassabbv'e' described; and a primai y object o'f the present'inveriticn is the provision of a tapered tankv construction which is practical, aii'd economicarand ex editious to manufacture on large scale ofifations.

In the transportable fiaiik'u'nder' consideration the longitudihal' median" of the top oi the tank a is substantialiyhorizontaf; or at the same el'- of the curvecf'top section" of the tank compensat- 'part iriai-For theWieWS'T Fig'j"1 isa side viewer ahihlpr'iwedfiufvd am? tapered trailer" tank; constructed according" to -ti'iepresent invention; with "the outer "casing? vationircm the groufiwthrcughout, while the longitudinal" medianof the bottom of the tank is gradually and uniformly downwardly inclined relied to the correctcurvature: However, to rovi'de-for'tli'e tapei ngshape of the tank the cu nved Towel-section thereof, which" is" preferably a compcsite sheet ofgradually "increasing width" toward one end, prsentscompli'c'ations"to avoid" complicated rolling operatibnswherei'n the axis" continuously wi'tri respect to its angle with the" rolled-1' a: manner to" eliminate" the iiflicuI-ty above: mentioned? and wherein said sheet may-- be uIid fbtmIWrMIetL 0- curved formation by" a 3e: Fig;- 4* ismtransverseveriicaisectionait'view" fiom"front to rear. 'I'i'ie curvedi top section of" the tank may be formed from'a composite sheet of rectanguflarformation which is uniformly- 4,0 1 5 9mm it hasoee'm relied into curved; semf The inner shell is enclosed by an outer sheet metal casing H which is shaped similarly to the shape of the inner shell and which is fabricated in a manner similar to the fabrication of the inner shell. The outer casing is spaced from the inner shell by means of channeled bands l8.

Supporting and reinforcing members include longitudinal ribs l9, transverse beams 20, and relatively low supporting feet 2|. of the tank the feet 2| are supported on the transverse beams 20 and extend through openings in the outer casing l'l, straddle portions of the bands l8, and engage and support the inner shell [0. At the forward end of the tank the supporting feet 2| extend upwardly from a fifth wheel 'plate 22 and similarly project through openings in the outer casing l1 and engage and support the inner shell I.

The vehicular mounting for the rear and enlar'ged end of the tank assemblage comprises a set of rear supporting wheels 23 rotatably mounted upon a transverse rear trailer axle 24 which is associated with leaf springs 25, the lat- At the rear lems. A roller is used to curve the sheet in a desired, uniform arc, it being noted that extreme side edges of the sheet are left plane for convenience in lapping the same with the side edges of the bottom forming sheet I I.

7 Referring now more specifically to Fig. 5, which depicts the bottom forming blank, it will be noted that the longitudinal center line thereof is indicated by the character a. Equidistant from the center line a are indicated lines D and c which are both parallel to the center line. At the reduced end of the sheet I I the lines b and 0 merge with the extremities of the rectilineal outer side edges of said sheet, designated (1 and e, respectively. Hence the portion of the sheet ll between the lines b, d and the wide end of the sheet is of triangular formation, as is the narrow area bounded by the lines o, e and the wide end of the sheet. The major portion of the sheet between the lines b and c is substantially rectangular. The latter portion of the sheet may be readily curved into a desired are by a roller operating on the sheet substantially between the lines VI; and c. It is highly important to observe that the axis of the roller may be maintained parallel to the center line a of the sheet,

so the rolling operation, carried out in this man- I ner is very simple and expeditious. As a practical matter the major rolling operations stop a trifle short of the lines I) and c, and that.

portion of the sheet between points 1 and g in ter being pivotally attached to the transverse beams 20.

' The'forward end of the semi-trailer vehicular structure is adapted to be supported by the rear end of a tractor or other propelling vehicle.' ,As' shown in Fig. 1, the tank carried fifthwheel plate 22 cooperates with the tractor carried complementary fifth wheel 26, with the result that the front end portion of the tank vehicle is turnable through the engagements of the cooperating fifth wheel members 22 and 26 and a king pin 21.

, It will thus be seen that in the vehicular tank the rear end portion of the tank is resiliently supported ontrailer wheels at a relatively low elevation, close to the spring and axle assembly. Theforward end portion of the tank, which is: of reduced cross-sectional area, is supported on the tractor at a proper elevation somewhat higher than the elevation of the rear of the tank. The vehicular tank, over all, is relatively lowand has a low center of gravity. It is also to be observed that the bottom of the commodity carrying tank is uniformly downwardly inclined from front to rear so that gravity will cause the contents to flow rearwardly for discharge through a rear dispensing valve 28.

As previously mentioned, the curved and tapered tank shell is fabricated from'a pair of metal sheets Ill and II respectively. The sheet It. to form the curved top section of the tank shell is rectangular, while the sheet H (see Fig. 5) to form the curved bottom section of the tank shell of increasing cross-sectional area, is substantially quadrilateral, increasing in width from front to rear and having at its front end a, curved section 29 which accommodates the front head M of the completed tank. Both of the sheets Ill and II, because of the relatively greatlength of the same, are preferably of composite form, being made up of smaller sections welded together. I

: With the present invention the shaping of the top'forrning sheet It presents no unusual prob;

Fig. 7 is curved in a uniform arc whose center is at point h. Between points f and c, and g and b the radius of curvature is increased so that the plane surfaced triangular areas 30 and 3| project upwardly perpendicularly.

The enclosed tank body or shell is composed of the curved top and bottom forming plates l0 and II respectively, the former being of uniform breadth throughout, and the latter gradually increasing in breadth from front to rear. Portions of the plane side edges 30 and 3| of the sheet II,

are arrangedso as to overlap the depending plane side edges of the topsheet Ill. The sheets are connected in this relationship by the side longitud'inal lines of weld l2 previously mentioned. The ends of the shell are then closed by the welded in end heads I and 15 also previously mentioned.

In the exemplification illustrated the inner shell is surrounded by an outersheet metal cas-.-

ing [1. This casing is similar in shape to the inner shell and is formed of complementary curved top and bottom plates rolled into form in ajmanner similar to that employed in connection with the sheets of the shell and similarly connected together.

While it is preferable to form the sheets of the shell and casing by sections'welded together .With the rolling operations being performed on the large composite sheets, it'is possible to first roll each section of a sheet, and subsequently connect the small sections to form the large composite, curved sheets.

It might ordinarily be supposed that in forming a tapered tank of a pair of curved complementary plates, each plate would have to be of increasing breadth from one end to the other. This would necessitate complicated rolling operations for both plates wherein the axis of the roller would have to be changed continuously. In

the present invention no such complications are presented. A simple top plate, of uniform breadth throughout, susceptible of easy rolling, is pro vided, Withthis easily formed top plate is a tapered bottom plate, but due to the provision of the triangular transition areas at the sides thereof, which are plane, the rolling of the major portion of the plate or sheet is simplified.

As will be noted from Figs. 1 and 6, the lines of connection between the top and bottom sheets at opposite sides of the shell are parallel to the longitudinal median of the top of the shell, instead of biased or inclined downwardly. The longitudinal median of the bottom of the shell is inclined downwardly toward the rear of the shell. This relationship is preserved when the tank is mounted on wheels, as in Fig. 1, and is of considerable advantage. The top of the tank remains horizontal and at a. uniform elevation from the ground. The bottom portion of the rear of the tank may be supported at a relatively low elevation, while the bottom portion of the front of the tank is somewhat higher for proper engagement with a tractor fifth-wheel mechanism.

Various changes and modifications may be made in the tank construction without departing from th spirit or the invention, and all such changes are contemplated as may come within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A tank shell, including a pair of complementary body-forming sheets, one of the same being of uniform breadth and having its major portion curved, and. the other sheet being of gradually increasing breadth from one end portion to the other andhaving its major portion curved in a uniform arc throughout its length, the latter sheet having side edge areas of triangular formation and plane, said side edge areas being secured to adjacent side edge portions of the firstmentioned sheet along longitudinal lines on 0pposite sides of the tank, said tank being ovate in cross-section with its major cross-sectional dimension extending across the width of the tank.

2. A tank shell, including an elongated top sheet of uniform breadth and having its major portion uniformly curved, and an elongated bottom sheet of gradually increasing breadth from one end portion to the other and having a major rectangular area thereof curved in a uniform arc throughout its length, said bottom sheet having its side portions of triangular formation and plane and secured to adjacent side edge portions of the top sheet along both sides of the tank, the side edges of the bottom sheet being parallel to the longitudinal median of the top of the shell and at an acute angle to the longitudinal median of the bottom of the shell, said shell being of gradually increasing cross-sectional area from one end'to the other and of substantially ovate form in cross-section with its major cross-sectional dimension extending acrossthe width of the tank.

ARNOLD F. MEYER. 

